The Star Malaysia

Ramasamy: I was a peace consultant for LTTE and Sri Lanka

- By SARAH YEOH north@thestar.com.my

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy has brushed aside allegation­s linking him to terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The allegation­s surfaced after a photo of him and pro-LTTE politician V. Gopalasamy was circulated online.

Dr Ramasamy explained that he was invited to be a peace consultant between the Sri Lankan government and LTTE back in 2003 when he was a professor at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in the field of Political Economics and Internatio­nal Conflicts Management.

“At the same time, I was also part of the constituti­onal affairs committee which was tasked with formulatin­g a peace solution.

“While I did meet the leaders of Sri Lanka and LTTE members, I was merely facilitati­ng peace talks between them. Is this equivalent to a terrorist act?” he said during a press conference yesterday.

Dr Ramasamy said it was illogical to link him to a terrorist group which was destroyed in May 2009, calling it an “extraordin­ary imaginatio­n”.

“You can make thousands of reports against me, but make sure they have basis.

“I’ll leave it to the police to investigat­e the matter,” he said.

Dr Ramasamy also rapped those who lodged multiple reports against him for failing to mention his efforts in securing peace in Indonesia and Columbia.

It was reported that he would be called by the police to give his statement, if needed.

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